Dans Mon Panier

December 15, 2008

Yesterday, I was so happy of my great find of the day at the market : Brèdes chouchou et margoze ! (chayote shoots & bitter melon).

Coincidence, the day before, Sylvie posted a simple and delicious recipe with chayote shoots and I was drooling in front of the picture as it’s ages I didn’t eat them.

This ‘bunchy thing’, like the seller called it, naturally ended up in my basket. I cooked them in a stir-fry with beef on the exact same way as described by Sylvie. I enjoyed selfishly this meal, Paprika was away and I know he doesn’t like it at all.

[caption id=”attachment_1784” align=”aligncenter” width=”500” caption=”Brèdes chouchou & margoze”][/caption]

And what’s about the bitter melon ? Well, this one I didn’t eat it yet. In fact, I don’t like it. Definitely too bitter for me. A popular vegetable in the Asian cuisine and common on Reunion island too. You can make a salad of it, or cook it (I would recommend) to soften the bitterness. I invite you to read all the culinary and medicinal uses of this odd vegetable, it’s interesting.

Doesn’t remind you a chameleon skin ? Well, that’s the little child inside of me who think so, but you have to admit that’s a strange looking vegetable, no ?

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Hier, je suis rentrée si contente de ma trouvaille du jour au marché: Brèdes chouchou et margoze !

Drôle de coïncidence, la veille Sylvie avait écrit un billet et partagé une recette simple et délicieuse avec des brèdes chouchou et je salivais devant sa photo parce que cela faisait si longtemps que je n’en avais pas mangé.

This ‘bunchy thing’ comme le vendeur l’a appelé, a naturellement fini dans mon panier. Je les ai préparé par la suite, en sauté avec du boeuf de la façon dont l’explique Sylvie. Je me suis me régalé égoïstement, Paprika n’étant pas là et de toute façon il n’aime pas ça.

Et qu’en est-il du margoze ? Disons que celui là je ne l’ai pas encore mangé. En fait, je n’aime pas ça, c’est trop amer à mon goût. C’est un légume commun dans la cuisine asiatique et l’on en trouve également à la Réunion. Vous pouvez le préparer en salade, ou le faire cuire (ce que je recommande) pour ôter son amertume. Je vous invite à lire les utilisations culinaires et médicinales de ce légume étrange.

Ca ne vous rapelle pas la peau du caméléon ? Oui, c’est la petite fille en moi qui parle… Mais vous admettrez que c’est quand même un légume à l’allure bizarre, non ?

Comments

Such gorgeous photos! I’m not a terribly huge fan of bitter melon either, but it is an intriguing looking vegetable isn’t it! Y

J’adore les brèdes chouchoux, j’en ai trouvé aussi il y a quelques temps dans une boutique chinoise! Quel plaisir j’ai eu à les manger!!! lol! Par contre comme toi, je n’aime pas le margoze, yuck! bises plume_d_argent

J’ai pu découvrir le chouchou et les brèdes chouchou à la Réunion, une belle découverte! Botacook

In India we use this a lot. In various curried. When i was younger my mom used to make thes and tell us we must eat them as they are so healthy for you. Ofcourse we kids hated the vegetable. I too don’t like them as they are so bitter. But i know lot of friends who love them . Mu mom love this vegetable. We call it bitter gourd , Pavakai etc…. depend on which state you come the name differ Happy Cook

Y, thank you ! Plume d’Argent, comme quoi, des fois il suffit de petits riens pour nous combler… Botacook, contente que tu ais apprécié les brèdes ! ;) Happy Cook, for vegetables it seems the weirdest is the healthiest… My dad liked it, but was the only one in my family to appreciate it… Vanille

Vanille - Your bredes chouchou seems to have had more young leaves than mine. I am sure they are cultivars that yield better shoots than the vine I planted. Since they only sell one kind oh chouchou here (a small, spineless fruit), that’s what I had to plant. Oh give me the big heavy thorny (but easily peeled) chouchous of Reunion! I am curious?: did your seller of bredes volunteer anything advice on what to do with them? Bitter melon is something I have yet to grow and cook… Sylvie Sylvie, Rappahannock Cook & Kitchen Gardener

try slicing them very thinly, and, when cooking, don’t mix them too much so that the bitterness doesn’t develop as much :) weyn

Sylvie, there was only one seller in the whole market that sold these brèdes and I bet after how he called it (“bunchy thing”) that he would not really advice me on what to do with them… Weyn, thank you for your advice I’ll keep it in mind for next time (if I’m crazy enough to buy some again) ! Vanille

I love bitter melon. In the Caribbean we also call it Karaila. In parts of India, it is also known as bitter gourd. To reduce the bitterness, remove the seeds, cut the vegetable in half and slice thinly. Liberally sprinkle with salt, toss and leave on the counter top for at least half an hour. It will yield water (just as a cucumber would when salt is added to it). In handfuls, squeeze the juice (that’s the bitter juice). You can opt to add fresh water and squeeze again to remove more of the juice. Spread the squeezed vegetable onto a tray and let air-dry for about 20 minutes and then saute with onions, tomatoes and fresh herbs. There will still be a little bitterness but significantly less. You can see my post about it here:http://www.tasteslikehome.org/2007/03/kalounjie.html HAPPY HOLIDAYS! Cynthia

I’ve not had it before, but it looks interesting! Nicisme

Just wanted to tell you all know how much I appreciate your postings guys. Found you though google! bloonsterific